STUCK | MxMxM

Chapter 12

Stuck Chapter 12

Will had no recollection of how exactly he had arrived at the hospital. Everything between getting the call as the last person Mr. Walton had dialled until he was there in the emergency room was a blur to him. And yet, his condition was nothing compared to the shaking mess Mr. Carpenter was when he arrived only minutes after him.

The man was breathless, dangerously pale, as he ran to the bed. His eyes first fell to the bandaged forehead before they became restless examining the rest of his husband's body.

"They said it's nothing major. He's unconscious because of the shock not because of the injury. They said he needed 8 stitches." Will said slowly.

"Why was he driving in this hour?" Mr. Carpenter looked at him, his eyes bloodshot and teary. "Do you know?"

Will had to swallow the urge to reach out and comfort the man because he wasn't close to the older like that. "No, sir." He shook his head, somehow feeling guilty for the lack of knowledge. "But... the location of the accident is close to your new house so maybe he was on his way there?" It could be, since the man was in his sweatpants and T-shirt.

"Was there anyone else? What caused the accident?" Mr. Carpenter asked without taking his eyes off his lover.

Before he could say he didn't know, a police officer approached them, asking for their relation to Mr. Walton.
"Your husband hit a tree. He was speeding and apparently lost control of the car. We're waiting for his test result to see if he was under the influence."

"Theo doesn't drink enough to get drunk. And he never uses drugs. Something else must've happened. Maybe a cat jumped in the street?"

"We checked the black box of the car. There were no external causes for the way Mr. Walton lost control of the wheel."

As though something dawned on Mr. Carpenter, he turned back toward his husband with concerned eyes. Waiting until the officer left, the man started talking.
"He... has PTSD. You've seen him when he's triggered. Sometimes, when it's really bad, he sees... someone." There was a desperate sigh, followed by a chocked sob as Mr. Carpenter came to his knees, arms hanging from the bed's railing. "This is all my fault. I'm the reason he's lying here like this. If I hadn't done that stupid shit, he wouldn't have to go through all of this again." The man hit his head against the metal of the bed. "You have no idea how long it took for him to stop hallucinating the last time. He suffered so much and now he's right back there." The man chuckled then. Will didn't know why but it lasted for a few seconds before Mr. Carpenter got up and dried his teary face with tissues.
"I'll be with him. Thank you, William. You should go home now."

"I can stay if you need me to. Based on what they said Mr. Walton will be waking up soon." He said, actually praying the man would say he could stay. He wanted to, badly. He was worried about the muscular man out of his head.

However, his boss shook his head with a smile and a look Will couldn't decipher. "He won't want a crowd when he does. You can go."

Nodding, Will looked at the unconscious man again, unwilling to leave. Biting on his lower lip, he convinced himself to walk out. There were so many people with terrible injuries in the emergency area but somehow none of them fazed Will to the degree those 8 stitches on Mr. Walton's forehead did. Looking down at his palm, he wished he could've held the cold hand of his boss longer before his husband arrived. When a child screamed, he was snapped out of it. He left the hospital knowing he could never have what his heart had foolishly dreamed of.

***

His head hurt badly and his body felt broken. What had happened? He was driving but now he seemed to be lying down. Had he dissociated? Opening his eyes, he had to close them again and cover them with his forearm from the painful ceiling lights.